ADHD Tics | ADHD Information

My son was diagnosed with ADHD this week after his first grade teacher and school counselor noticed marked lacked of attention and impulsivity in the classroom. I have always had an "active" child, (my husband is a football coach and we usually have Tyler on the go all the time) a lot of his behavior and hyper-activity I believed was just "boys being boys".  After the first two months of school passed, and numerous calls home from school - my husband and I took our son to see his pediatrician.  There Tyler was diagnosed with ADHD.  We were at the office for a few hours and there the doctor questioned Tyler, as well as myself regarding his lack of attenion, etc.  (needless to say, while we were there he was bouncing off the walls, and not focusing) The doctor suggested to use that we start Tyler (who is 7) on Concerta 18mg every morning for a week, then bump up the dosage to 36mg every morning the second week.  I didn't do a lot of research on the subject (I AM NOW DOING SO) and chose to go ahead an medicate Tyler based on the doctors advice.  Tyler had always enjoyed school until this year, and now really feels defeated, and that he is always "in trouble". Our main concern was not having Tyler pay attention, etc. Our main concern is/was to have Tyler enjoy school and have a positive self-esteem. 

So, yesterday we gave him the 18mg of Concerta in the morning with breakfast, and when Tyler returned from school he gave me his daily report home. (which up until this point was ALWAYS NEGATIVE, keep in mind his teacher was aware that yesterday Tyler was on medication) On this day, Tyler had the highest scores for his behavior, all positive feedback.  I was so excited to initially see this and felt that Tyler was proud, and finally on the right direction.  He did mention he was a bit drowsy, and his teacher mentioned he didn't eat a lot at lunch.  We knew those were common symptoms wo we made a note to keep an eye on it. 

Here is where I began to panic!!  That night we settled down and as a family were watching TV.  I noticed that Tyler seems increasingly aggitated.  He kept figiting, and rubbing his fingers together, he couldn't sit still and as I kept watching him, I noticed that he began to have "tics" the most profound being that he would continually strectch his neck.  (like an adult would) doing a full rotation from front to back.  It was so alarming that I couldn't stop watching him.  I asked him why he was doing that and if his neck hurt, and he said that he had a headache.  (which we knew was another side effect) He kept doing this as well as other tics (which he has never done before) rubbing his fingers together rapidly, etc.  For some reason he must have picked up on me watching him and became very embarrassed and asked me to go away and leave him alone.  I could tell that he was trying to hold off on doing this but simply couldn't. 

Last night I jumped on the computer and starting research on these "tics" as well as other side effects on Concerta.  This was talked about frequently.  I even read that Concerta can bring an onset of this behavior and it may never go away.

Needless to say, Tyler does not have school today, so I DID NOT give him his meds, and will not until he sees a specialist in this field.

Can anyone please help me regarding this issue? Anyone have a child with similar tics or behavior while on medication for ADHD, or even without? Are these tics common with children with ADHD?? PLEASE HELP, I am worried sick!

some medications can cause tics.  I know adderal does.  you might want to call your son's dr and ask him if there is a different med to try if the tics are very profound and are bothersome at school and interfere with his academics.  My son had tics for a while, but after he got used to the medications the tics went away.  That might be the case for your son to.  But, call your son's dr to be safe.Did your son have these tics right away? I was so concerned as it was only his first day on them, and they were very noticable to me. My husband seems to think they weren't as bad....however to me, they were VERY scary!My son has never had tics on any meds, but, it is not unsual when a medicine first hits the system for your body to react then adjust. I would call the dr. and see what they say. I also would follow through with seeing a specialist. If you can do that. Nothing against primary care doctors. But, this is really a spicalized issue. With lots of different treatments.

I am going to call the doctor today as well as get in touch with my sister who is a first grade teacher at another school - and see if they can give me a name of a specialist.  Right now I am so concerned, it consumes me and I am watching him like a hawk, worried that this may never get better. 

With in the first few days.  And I do agree with wmtmann, a neuropsy is the best for the dx and scripts.  they will give you the hole skinny about what to expect before you leave the office.  If you need help finding one in your office, let me know, and i'll go on a doc hunt on the web for ya.

My son got tics after being on concerta and with focalin. (alos both of these meds did not work for my son) He is now on Strattera and has no tics.  Strattera is a non-stimulant.  The others (concerta, focalin etc) are stimulants which can cause tics in some kids.

My son had the rubbing of the fingers too and also his mouth twitched a lot.  I too used to just watch him ------ trying to figure out what he was doing.  He also got embarrassed.

I am happy to say that so far he has not had them any more. 

Funny, my son was on Strattera and had tics on it, too.  It's funny to see how some people worked well on different meds and some don't.  lol

When my son was on concerta he would have a tic if the dose was slightly too high and I believe it was after it had worn off, becasue it was in the evening I think.  He would scratch his scalp and say it felt like sand was in his hair.  He also would compulsively clean his fingernails because it felt like there was sand under his nails.  i can't remember what we did about it, but I think it may have been related to  a higher dose.  ds has always been very sensitive to slight changes in methylphenidate.

another odd tic I observed was when he started clonidine.  About 30 minutes after taking it he would yawn repeatedly like a tic, not like fatigue.  It disappeared after about a week maybe.  doc thought that was weird because if anything clonidine would help tics. It also took about 1 hr or so before it would cause him to get sleepy.

I know EXACTLY how you're feeling watching your son going through this! I started my son on Adderall about 2 1/2 years ago on a break from school since I didn't know how he'd react. He was doing all the same movements your talking about and then some - stretching his neck, stretching his lower jaw out, rubbing his fingers, moving his shoulders and neck - it was devastating for me to watch him go through that. We went out to eat with my parents that evening and waited in the car for them to show up and I just got tears in my eyes because he couldn't stop and was asking what was wrong with him. My dad said he acted like he was on speed. We toughed it out for about 2 weeks and finally changed him over to Concert 36mg. They are better now but not gone - he still fidgets with his hands and rubs his fingers together (which my mom told me I rubbed my fingers together all the time when I was little - not anymore and I'm not ADHD), some jaw movements once in awhile but overall I'm not as concerned about kids noticing it and making fun of him. Teachers weren't much help - they've never noticed it.

The headaches are a bad side affect though. I keep ibuprofen at school for him because he gets them quite often in the afternoon. We are seeing the Doc tomorrow for this as well as rebound issues, which I never knew about until I came across this board.

Weight has been a big issue. My son, 10, has always been tall for his age and chubby. Since he's been on Concerta he went from 85 pounds to 65 in like 6 months. I started giving him Carnation instant breakfast with whole milk when he didn't feel like eating and his weight stabled. He now eats like a horse most the time and he's up to 69 lbs.

It seems like trial and error for each kid and I'm dreading a change tomorrow but he's developing behavioral problems in the evening that are just about ready to make me go to the nutty farm if we don't figure something out soon.

Best of luck to you and just remember you need to give it a chance for awhile to see how things level out. Remind me that if I'm back here tomorrow after my son's appt

MY son had tics related to his adhd. Tics are apparently common in some adhd cases.  When his neurologist talked about medication he said that any stimulant drug was out of the question due to his tics because they could worsen. So he is currently on Strattera that seemed to be working at first but now I am starting to doubt about it since I have seen my son very moody lately. However, his tics are still  there but the medication (Strattera) is not worsening them.

I completely understand how you feel when you see your son's tics. I also felt panic and have even cried for this issue. But now I feel better and really ready to keep going on.

Talk with the doctor. I think he would probably have you try a different med. Adhd seems to be a battle of failure and success.

i have a granddaughter that has adhd,bipolar, and tourettes,,,,so worrying yurself won't help,,,,just make it worse for your son and you,,,especially him,,If he does have tics,,don't stare,,make note of to him,,,ok,,,if he has tics,,he already had them and stimulant can set them off,,,is there a cure no,,,but you can learn to live with them,,,,,mine is 11,,,she has tourette syndrome,,,and sometimes they are going for a yr,,,and sometimes she has about 10 going at the same time,,,,,,,,there is meds that help slow them down but it does not stop them,,,,,if you tell a child to stop as some teacher have,,,and were told not to tell her that at all,,,,,can really make it hard on the child,,,,you must act like they are not there at all,,,,cause the child is going thru hell and we don't need to add more,,,,if you need to talk to someone you may messenger me at youtalkinto_me2000@hotmail.com

I'm new to these Boards. My son is in the 4th grade, will be 10 in November and was diagnosed with ADHD in the first grade. We knew from birth that he was different from our other children. He has been tested at school and was found to be very intellectually gifted (anything mechanical or electrical in particular). He's pretty emotionally immature though-one of the hallmarks of the Gifted ADHD child. He has taken Adderall since his diagnosis and it really has been a godsend. He isn't perfect when on it (which is 365 days a year. When he's not on it, he's so hyper and impulsive that no one can stand to be around him) but it allows him to control much of his impulsiveness and hyperactivity and makes him much more enjoyable to be with. He doesn't really have any behavioral issues at school (he saves any rotten behavior for home-for me in particular, I think. He get's on better with his Dad).  He still has some trouble concentrating in school but has a wonderful teacher (who, thank God, is looping with his class and will be his teacher again next year!) who is understanding and has implemented a behavior plan taylored to his needs and is working with him to improve his ability to stay on task. He has always had some mild tics since starting the medication-some eye blinking and rolling and occassional mild head shaking. This didn't bother me too much since the meds helped his behavior so much and they weren't that noticeable. Lately though, he has started with neck stretching and pulling his mouth to one side, which is much more obvious. So far, it doesn't seem to bother him (I guess it only bugs him when I point it out) and he says no one makes fun of him (the teacher backs this up). It really bothers me though. I am not sure what to do. We went to the doctor and they put him on the Daytrana patch since he could take a lower dose of meds by using it. They thought this might alleviate some of the tics. After 2 days we yanked that-he was an emotional nightmare. (Emotional lability is one of the possible side affects of this patch's medication-same as Ritalin).  It obviously doesn't agree with him. He's never had a reaction to Adderall like that! He was taking 15 mg of adderall 2xs daily. I got a pill splitter and am now giving him 7.5 mg 2xs daily in hopes of cutting down on the tic activity while perhaps still giving enough meds to take the edge of his behavior-we'll see. It's only been 2 days . I'm torn-do I keep him on the higher dose of meds that so obviously make a positive behavioral difference and live with some tics or take him off meds and live with him spazing out but not twitching? Am I just overreacting? I can't tell you the tears I've shed over my little guy. To be blessed with such a fine mind and have a disability that may destroy his ability to live up to his potential really hurts. It all seems so unfair. It helps to know that I'm not alone though. His Dad tried to understand how I feel but, after all, he's a Dad. They just don't worry the way we Moms do.  lncbert39015.5956597222 Well, the half dose of Adderall definitely did not do the job. I spoke with Lloyd's teacher after 2 days and he wanted to know what had changed. He said he was like a different kid-very spacey and hyper. Ususally he's just a bit innattentive. Needless to say, I put him back on the full dose. He came home from school yesterday and was angry and iritated at the mere sight of me (he had been since taking the half doses). I gave him a left-over 10mg Adderall left from his last prescription (I suggested to the doctor that he move up to 15mg so he could concentrate better @ school but when I had a conference with his teacher, he told me he didn't see much difference between 10 and 15 mg.) Within an hour he was my happy, affectionate guy again. I'm going to call the doctor and recommend that we go back to 10mg. We are also looking into a professional behavior modification program run by a local group here in the area. They deal only with kids and ADHD.  I also told him about the marble plan I saw here on the boards and he said that sounded cool. He's already planning what to buy with his reward money. I guess we'll just have to live with some tics. After all, his being a happy, well adjusted guy is more important than the odd facial movement. Too bad-I did notice a lessening of the tics with the half dose. But his being miserable is just not worth it. I'm hoping that by using behavior modification, we can lower his does over time. And the doctor said that, although the tics will probably never go away completely. they probably will ease up when he hits puberty.  lncbert39016.5431481482

Hello,  My son has had tics since he was about 4 or 5.  He went on Adderal when he was 7 shortly there after we switched to Concert (less agitation).  His tics did not increase.  Not until the doc tried him on a shorter acting stim (Metadate CD)  Ouch he ticed like a mad man.  The school sent him home because they felt so sorry for him.  The doc wanted to put him on Strattera so we did a wash out period.

His tics off all meds were worsening-I knew we would never be able to endure the time it took for straterra to take effect as it was the end of the school year and he had no self control and was bouncing off the walls.  I decided to put him back on Concerta and the doc threw in some tenex to help with the tics.

The tics come and go but are manageable.  It is very hard to watch him when he is really ticing bad.

Hope all is well

ang